1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to packaging systems and more particularly to systems for packaging and shipping detonators.
The need to transport commercial quantities of detonating devices gives rise to concerns regarding the safety with which packages containing the detonating devices can be stored and moved, because the packages may be exposed to a wide range of temperatures and may be subjected to a variety of physical stresses, e.g., impacts that may occur should the package be dropped. In designing a packaging system for detonators, attention must be given not only to preventing unwanted detonation of the detonators in the package during shipment and handling, but also to prevent the propagation of inadvertent detonation from one package to another. The prior art generally addresses these concerns through the use of dense packaging materials and by disposing detonators singly in isolated compartments.
2. Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,868,360 to Donkin dated Jan. 13, 1959 discloses a storage container for detonators in which an outer box is divided by an interior partition into two main compartments, and wherein each compartment is divided into cells by a separator assembly. A single detonator is disposed within each cell.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,601,919 to Darbyshire dated Jul. 1, 1952 discloses a container for packaging electrical detonators comprising an outer box that holds a plurality of compartmentalized inner boxes. Each compartment is dimensioned and configured to hold a single detonator and associated leg wires.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,352,998 to Alexander et al dated Jul. 4, 1944 discloses a packaging system for electrical blasting caps and their associated leg wires in which each cap and its leg wire is disposed within a cardboard tube, and a plurality of the tubes is contained within a box.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,631,756 to Olin dated Jun. 7, 1927 discloses a tube arrangement for packaging a single detonator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,602 to Levey dated May 6, 1986 shows a transport system for transporting detonating cord in which the detonating cord is looped around cardboard support members and packed in a cardboard box surrounded by cardboard baffles.
The Applicants have previously used a packaging system comprising an overpack container within which was disposed a plurality of subpack containers, each subpack container holding a plurality of unsegregated detonating devices. This package met 4 G fiberboard container requirements and was assigned a hazard classification of 1.1 B for the shipment of detonating devices containing up to about 985 mg of explosive material per unit and a total of 100 grams of explosive material per subpack container.